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Loyalty (2)
Plot The sole remaining tie to Ross' death is Van Dekker, the lone survivor of Hassan's brutal take-down. The cops want to bring him in for questioning, but he is under the protection of the FBI. Van Dekker is their link to a Somali arms deal. The U.S. government orchestrated the transfer of illegal arms to Hassan, which are covertly equipped with GPS devices. Hassan will likely provide the weapons to terrorist camps throughout Somalia, and the U.S. government will target and destroy the camps. Agent Wendy Stahl has no intention of turning Van Dekker over to the detectives. Goren, aware of the constraints of pursuing Ross' murder from inside the force, throws a punch at Van Dekker and gets himself suspended. New Major Case detective Serena Stevens, recently arrived from Chicago, witnesses the decisive moment. Hassan learns of the GPS tagging from R.J. Patel, an electronics expert who is working with him. Patel says he can disable the devices, and Hassan realizes that the government's plan cannot succeed unless his scheme does. Van Dekker dutifully reports to Hassan and swears that he gave no information to the FBI, offering the cremated remains of Hassan's father to prove his allegiance. Unwilling to trust anyone, Hassan has Van Dekker killed on the spot. Learning that Hassan ordered the murder of his partners, Kadra swears that his actions have brought a curse on them. Furious, she pressures Hassan to end his relationship with American-born Jill Peak; as the couple spends the night together, he considers poisoning Jill's glass of wine but does not go through with it. Upon learning of Van Dekker's death, Stahl suspects Goren of taking revenge for Ross' murder. Eames is forced to ask Goren for his alibi; he has none. He tells her he has uncovered a money trail from Loftin to a venture capitalist, Milgram. Goren is convinced he is the money-man behind the arms deal. Goren corners Milgram and shakes him down for information. Milgram tells him that the arms are stored at one of his warehouses, which leads Goren to Patel. When Goren confronts Patel, he is blindfolded and forced into a van at gunpoint. At the destination, he finds himself face to face with Stahl, who explains that the FBI is allowing the GPS-tagged weapons to be distributed to terrorist camps in Somalia. Patel is also working with them and will make sure that the GPS is not disabled. Goren offers to help in the operation, even though Stahl warns him that the FBI can do nothing to protect him or help him return to the Major Case Squad. Nichols, Eames and Stevens get a search warrant for Hassan's place and find evidence that leads them to suspect a planned coup attempt. The Chief of Detectives names Eames as Ross' replacement, with the condition that she must fire Goren. Jill, returning home one evening, is shot and killed. At the crime scene, the detectives realize that this murder differs from the previous ones, suggesting that a different shooter took part. Nichols interrogates Hassan and Kadra, pointing out evidence to suggest that Hassan ordered the death of their father. The information is powerful enough to turn Kadra against Hassan. She admits to killing Jill in order to remove a threat to Hassan's rule, but she cannot abide the murder of their parents. She agrees to provide a statement linking Hassan to the other murders. At the police station, Goren intervenes just as Nichols is about to get Hassan to confess. He tells Eames and Nichols of the FBI's investigation and the plan involving the stolen weapons. Goren argues that they can best honor Ross' death by allowing the deal to go through and potentially saving millions of lives. Nichols objects vehemently, since Hassan will walk away from Ross' murder and several others, but he is overruled. Before Hassan goes free, Nichols warns him that someone under his rule may eventually do to him what he did to his father. In the final moments of the episode, Eames carries out her duty and fires Goren, then lays her badge and gun on Ross' desk and quits the NYPD. Cast Main cast * Vincent D'Onofrio as Detective Robert Goren * Kathryn Erbe as Detective Alexandra Eames Recurring cast * Jeff Goldblum as Detective Zack Nichols * Saffron Burrows as Detective Serena Stevens * Leslie Hendrix as M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers * Mike Pniewski as Chief of Detectives Kenny Moran * Ato Essandoh as Sayid Abdullah Hassan * John Sharian as Jan Van Dekker * Amy Landecke as FBI Agent Wendy Stahl * David Zayas as Lt. Stanley Maas * Allen McCullough as Russell Milgram * Condola Rashad as Khadra * Jicky Schnee as Jill Peak * Babs Olusanmokun as Assassin * Scott Whitehurst as Ron Hegel * Sean T. Krishnan R.J. Patel Guest cast * David Forsyth as Piaggi * Michael Bakkensen as Guard * Ryan Cyrus Shams as Clerk Background Information and notes *This episode will be notable as it marks the last appearance of Detectives Goren and Eames for the season; however, Goren and Eames returned in Season 10. *This episode marks the first appearance of Detective Serena Stevens. *This is a Law & Order first where in the special opening credits, there is no spot for a commanding officer. This would not happen again until Season 10 of Criminal Intent. *The two part episode is partly ripped from the headlines of the Somalia pirate attacks. Category:CI episodes